Weekly Business News from Myanmar

Emerging Markets Myanmar (EME- Myanmar) has invested in an e-commerce startup for rural retailers
Emerging Markets Myanmar (EME-Myanmar), a Yangon-based investment firm, has invested in an e-commerce start-up for rural retailers. A six-digit sum was invested but the exact amount was not disclosed. Ezay, founded by former Oway employee Ko Kyaw Min Swe in August, is a start-up which will provide a mobile platform for customers to purchase new stock from wholesalers as well as arrange for delivery of items online. This eliminates the need for retailers to physically travel to shops. “[Restocking] is a real burden and is common across Myanmar; often the husband will go to the wholesaler but must take time off work to do so… we saw an opportunity to address this issue and connect wholesalers and retailers through a mobile platform - providing delivery to make life easier for retailers,” said Ko Kyaw Min Swe, founder of Ezay.
Yangon Region Government is planning to upgrade the Sel Ein Tan coastal area to become a tourist destination in Yangon
The Yangon Region government has announced that it is planning to upgrade the Sel Ein Tan coastal area near Letkhokkon Beach in Kungyangon township to become a tourist destination, the region’s tourism officials say. “Some Yangonites are already going to Sel Ein Tan to escape city life and to to eat sea food. While infrastructure like water and electricity are present in the area, the regional government will do more to improve facilities in the area,” said Yangon Region Tourism Minister Daw Naw Pan Thinzar Myo. The Sel Ein Tan beach area is a two-hour drive from Yangon and, according to tourism officials, some 1,500 local travellers visit every week. The regional government says the next step will be to draw up a master plan for improving the area.
Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued registration cards for 72 trading firms who are providing retail and wholesale services
The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) recently announced that it has issued registration cards to 72 trading firms providing retail and wholesale services. Thirty-four wholly foreign enterprises from Thailand, Japan, the Netherlands, the US, China, Singapore, Switzerland, Malaysia, Poland, the Republic of Korea, and Germany have been granted registrations, along with 11 domestic businesses owned by Myanmar citizens and 27 joint ventures, according to the ministry. With the recent reforms in the retail sector, domestic retailers said they are seeking a level playing field against foreign players. “Foreign businesses and joint ventures are now allowed to carry out wholesale and retail businesses in Myanmar. This liberalization might affect the market share of local manufacturers,” according to the Myanmar Retailers Association. “At present, domestic retailers are facing difficulties in keeping up with the reforms in the retail and wholesale sector as they do not control the whole supply chain.
Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited (YACL) applied the tender for Kawthaung airport upgrade through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) system
YANGON-Yangon Aerodrome Company Limited (YACL), company green-lighted to work on the Yangon International Airport, already tendered for upgrading services on Kawthaung Airport. In order to upgrade, the Kawthaung Airport through a public-private partnership (PPP) system, the Request for Proposal had been tendered for the upgrading of three domestic airports to the local and foreign developers, according to the Department of Civil Aviation. ‘We are going to carry out upgrades on the Kawthaung Airport. If there is no private investment, it must be carried out with the assistance from the state budget. However, some private companies are keen on upgrading the Kawthaung Airport. So, we’ve called for tender. The YACL , which was also granted to upgrade the Yangon International Airport, already tendered for upgrading tasks on Kawthaung Airport,” said a high-ranking officer from the Department of Civil Aviation.
The large mining enterprises will be granted permission to invest in Myanmar in 2020
Large mining enterprises will be allowed to invest in the country in 2020, said U Thant Sin Lwin, director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). “The big players from the mining sector remained to be granted permission to invest in the last fiscal. When we grant permission to these mining enterprises, the related ministries need to make sure that they are eco-friendly and do not cause much waste,” he said. “Next year, the mining enterprises will be granted permission to invest in Myanmar. We’ve already said that they must be from the mining sector. Related to this, the ministries concerned are scrutinizing the application process. It has taken more than two months to do so. We have permitted only one giant mining enterprise and it will make large investments involving astronomical figures. So, we are assuming that this sector will develop,” said U Thant Sin Lwin. “Currently, the government is encouraging investments in the electricity sector. So, the Ministry of Electricity and Energy will grant permission to businesses related to natural gas to generate electricity. Nowadays, investments are flowing regularly into the construction and manufacturing sectors,” he added.
The installation of Vesse Monitoring Systems (VMS) will be extended one more from November 1 to January 31 2020
The deadline for fishing vessels to install Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) will be extended from November 1 to January 31, 2020, according to U Myint Naing, deputy director at Yangon Region Fishery Department. This is the third time the deadline has been extended. The Yangon government had previously provided a two-month grace period from September 1 to October 30, to install the equipment, and later extended the period to the end of November. “Most owners have already signed contracts to install the VMS but some of the equipment has not arrived in Myanmar. To solve that issue, the government has given another extension. If a firm cannot install VMS by the end of January 2020, we will instruct them to cancel that contract and sign a new one with other firms,” U Myint Naing said.
The Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) suspended the acceptance of mobile payments from “Zero-Budget” tourists
In the wake of the government’s relaxation of visa rules allowing visitors of certain nationalities to obtain visa on arrival, Chinese travelers have poured into the country. The number of Chinese tourist arrivals from January to October of this year reached 1.5 million, a 161 percent increase over the same period last year, making the Chinese the largest group of visitors to Myanmar. As they often spend the least among visitors of all nationalities, only stay in Chinese-owned hotels and eat at Chinese-owned restaurants, Chinese visitors are often called “zero-budget tourists” by those in the local tourism industry. That some of them have been found to break Myanmar cultural rules during their visit has created an added headache for tourism operators and workers and the public at large. These problems prompted Member of Parliament U Aung Kyaw Kyaw Oo to ask the government on December 10 if it has a plan to ban WeChat Pay and Alipay, which are mostly used by so-called “zero-budget” Chinese travelers.
Myanmar’s sea trade reached over USD $ 4.8 billion as of 6 December in 2019 – 2020 fiscal year
Myanmar's trade through sea routes reached over 4.8 billion U.S. dollars as of Dec. 6 in present fiscal year (FY) 2019-2020 which started in October, Xinhua reported. In over two months, the country earned over 2 billion U.S. dollars from maritime export while its import amounted to over 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.
The prawn farming is being extended as 90 percent of marine resources off Myeik archipelago depletes
As 90 percent of marine resources in the sea of Myeik archipelago is depleting in Taninthayi Region, prawn farming is being extended, said entrepreneurs. Local businesspeople have to pay greater attention to farming so that their businesses will not stop operation due to marine resource shortages caused by overfishing in the sea. The extended farming plan comes as seawater prawn faming is more successful on the islands. "We are losing about 90 percent of marine resources in the sea. So we established prawn farming. If fish and prawn catching no longer exists in the sea, people and staff from this marine industry will get into trouble. We do this mainly to prevent those businesses from ceasing operation, to improve State revenue and to ensure regional development. Our company has about 360 staff, 70 percent of whom are from Kyunsu Township. We are doing prawn farming in vacant lands and salt fields. There is little land that is being depleted. But we do crop-substitute cultivation. Last week, we planted about 80,000 trees. Currently, we are planning to plant over 100,000 saplings in Kyagyiaw," said Kyaw Lin, manager of Pyi Phyo Tun Seawater Fish Farming Company.
Russian business people are keened to explore business opportunities in Myanmar
Earlier this week, U Thaung Tun, Union Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations received a Russian business delegation in Nay Pyi Taw, where the group discussed opportunities for investments and trade. Timur Maksimov, Deputy Minister for Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Nikolay Listopadov, ambassador of the Russia Federation to Myanmar, accompanied the business delegation, according to the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations. The group also discussed improving engagement between the citizens of Myanmar and Russia as well as potential investments in the education, power, transport, telecommunications and technology sectors.